A Massachusetts pregnancy resource center filed a defamation lawsuit Jan. 29 against a pro-abortion group that, together with the state government, launched a smear campaign against pregnancy resource centers last summer.

Bethlehem House’s complaint alleges that pro-abortion group Reproductive Equity Now (REN) launched a “politically-motivated attack” that attempts “to undermine and discredit these organizations [pregnancy resource centers] because they disagree with their religious and moral stances on abortion.”

According to the complaint, Bethlehem House is a faith-based nonprofit that provides free resources for expectant mothers. Since its founding in 2006, it has provided resources to more than 5,000 pregnant and postpartum women and their family members.

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CatholicVote previously reported that Democratic Gov. Maura Healy targeted pregnancy resource centers like Bethlehem House with what she called a “public education campaign” in June 2024. The campaign, the first of its kind in the country, included ads on social media, billboards, radio, and transit telling women to avoid pregnancy care centers, saying that they “mislead you about your options if you’re pregnant.” The ads also claimed that the pro-life centers deliberately posed as abortion facilities to intercept or deceive women seeking abortions.

REN collaborated with Healy’s administration to launch the campaign, which the state funded with a $1 million grant.

However, Bethlehem House refuted the campaign’s claims in its complaint, calling each of the statements false.

“Plaintiff is not located near an abortion clinic, its logo does not look like an abortion clinic logo, its name and advertising are explicitly religious and pro-life, it does not use the word ‘abortion’ in its website or other advertising, it offers no medical care, counseling, or information, and it does not use ‘deceptive tactics’ to attract clients,” the complaint states.

In the complaint, Bethlehem House sued REN and its president, Rebecca Hart Holden, for defamation, claiming that “These statements were inherently damaging to Plaintiff’s reputation in the community because they accused Plaintiff of intentionally deceiving vulnerable women, lying to them, and placing them in danger, as well as breaking the law by engaging in deceptive practices.”

According to the complaint, the campaign likely caused a decrease in women seeking aid at the center, as well as a decrease in donations. The complaint also claimed that Bethlehem House is now more susceptible to pro-abortion vandalism.

According to the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts’ news outlet iObserve.org, Bethlehem House already has been targeted by pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge since June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Bethlehem House is represented by the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center. The Center also filed a similar lawsuit in August with the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of pro-life pregnancy center Your Options Medical (YOM). The lawsuit claims violations of YOM’s free speech, free exercise of religion, and equal protection rights.

LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.

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